So there are a number of interesting and innovative features in the higher end models, while all models are fitted with LED lighting throughout, for both feature inserts and general illumination.

The USS Vengeance model is indeed animated, just as we suggested initially. On the Pro, the ship is activated by a solenoid to rock and shake, while on the Premium and LE a different mechanism rocks the ship side-to-side and also slides it nose-down towards the player as it 'crashes' into the playfield. Also animated is the laser starfield projector, the mechanism for which is presumably in the purple lump of plastic mounted on the backboard.

The LE brings back the shaker motor which had been left out of earlier LEs, and adds animating electroluminescent panels behind the blue side armour's cutouts.

Let's take a look at the list of features across each model in full:

The features grid
(click to enlarge)

Stern has released slightly fuller cabinet pictures of all three models, showing the translite/backglass artwork and backbox sides. Here they are, starting with the Pro.

Star Trek Pro

Star Trek Premium

Star Trek Enterprise Limited Edition

Finally, here's Stern's official press release announcing the game.

Stern Pinball Announces STAR TREK™ Game

The World’s Leading Maker of Arcade-Quality Pinball Set to Launch Star Trek
Pinball Machine

MELROSE PARK, IL – September 12, 2013 – Stern Pinball, Inc., the world’s leading
maker of real pinball games and the American Amusement Machine Association
(“AAMA”) Manufacturer of the Year, proudly announced today the availability of Star
Trek pinball.

Inspired by the Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness films, the newest
Stern machine puts players in Captain James Kirk’s chair of the U.S.S. Enterprise,
embarking on a journey to protect and defend the planets of the Federation.

Stern’s Star Trek pinball machine features all the bells and whistles a Star Trek fan
would desire. With adrenalin-filled battles, high-definition artwork, cosmic LED lighting
and classic musical scores, the Star Trek game will evoke the sensation of flying
through space at Warp Speed to rescue Spock and defeat the U.S.S. Vengeance.

The
newest game from Stern includes an animated battleship, three lightning fast ramps,
three flippers, resettable memory drop targets and much more.

“The Star Trek pinball machine celebrates the much loved sci-fi franchise by bringing
fans a whole new adventure right at their fingertips,” said Gary Stern, Chairman and
CEO of Stern Pinball, Inc.

Star Trek is Stern’s first all-LED Pro Model. The playfield features eight multicolored
LED paths that lead gamers on easy-to-understand color-coded routes. There are six
missions for casual players matched by 18 complex treks to immerse enthusiast players
deeper in the game. As players attack an oncoming threat with three action-centered
flippers, the all-LED playfield will captivate onlookers and enhance the player
experience with features like phaser flashes and photon torpedoes.

Players will instinctively know exactly what to do when they approach Star Trek pinball– destroy the U.S.S. Vengeance, a key action-packed feature on the playing field. From
the very start, players will have the chance to unlock special opportunities, collect
tantalizing bonus features and win a series of accolades called The Captain’s Chair.

Star Trek aficionados can expect the classic battle between the heroic Enterprise team
and the villainous Khan as well as run-ins with Nero, Klingons and the Narada.

The Star Trek game, under license by CBS Consumer Products, continues both the
Stern Pinball and the Stern family tradition of producing quality pinball machines for young and old. The company traces its lineage to Philadelphia in the 1930s when Sam
Stern entered the business of operating pinball games. Sam Stern subsequently
became part owner and president of Williams Manufacturing, a pioneer in the pinball
industry, and passed his lifelong enthusiasm for the game and the business of pinball to
his son, Gary, who founded Stern Pinball. Today pinball remains one of America’s
favorite pastimes.

To learn more about the Star Trek pinball machine and Stern Pinball, visit
www.sternpinball.com.

About Stern Pinball, Inc.
Stern Pinball, Inc., headquartered just outside Chicago, Illinois, is the leading producer
of pinball games in the world. Stern’s highly talented creative and technical teams
design, engineer and manufacture popular arcade-quality pinball games. Recent
popular Stern titles include Metallica, Avengers, X-Men, AC/DC, Tron, Transformers,
Avatar, Iron Man, Batman, Spiderman and many more. All of Stern’s pinball games are
crafted by hand and assembled by Stern’s expert team. Both pinball enthusiasts and
casual players around the globe enjoy Stern’s games. For more information, please visit
www.sternpinball.com.

All trademarks and product names are the property of their respective companies.

Production of the Pro model is starting now, with the LE models being made in the second half of October, right around the time of the Pinball Expo factory tour. We'll have coverage of the tour and much more about Stern's new Star Trek game soon, right here at Pinball News.